Icelandair’s first Airbus A321LR was delivered on December 3, 2024.It was the airline’s first Airbus aircraft. The delivery occurred after the company retired its two Boeing 757-300s, which are presently flying in Uzbekistan.
Flightradar24 reported that the initial LR, registered TF-IAA, flew domestically on December 8 from Keflavik to Akureyri, then to Egilsstadir and back to Keflavik. On December 10, regular commercial service resumed from Keflavik to Stockholm Arlanda and Copenhagen. Icelandair now utilizes the LR only throughout Europe, but this will change in the spring.
The first A321LR flight to North America.
Icelandair is set to receive all four A321LRs by this summer. There will be 187 seats in a two-class layout, with 22 in business (SAGA) and 165 in economy (with 18 extra legroom seats).
The planned operations of its A321LRs will be fine-tuned, even when the last aircraft arrive. This refers to the individual routes—some of which are temporarily added to the LR map and others that are removed—as well as the exact dates of operation.
The company has added Keflavik-Newark to its North American network, making it the first route to include the new kind. This is expected for April 30 unless circumstances change, with Newark only receiving the equipment until May 18.
The schedule is as follows, all times are local. As is customary, the current focus is solely on increasing two-way communication throughout Europe.
- Keflavik-Newark: FI623, 17:00-19:10
- Newark-Keflavik: FI624, 20:25-06:15+1
The 767-300ER will fly to Newark until April 29 before transitioning to the LR. On May 19, the 757-200ER will operate before the route resumes to the 767-300ER the following day. The widebody will remain operational throughout the summer.
Two other paths to visit the LR in May.
After Newark’s interim A321LR service in April and May, New York JFK will only receive it on May 19th (after Newark flights finish). It will fly on FI615 that day, leaving Keflavik at 17:00 and landing in New York at 19:10 local time. Returning, FI614 will depart JFK at 20:25 and arrive home at 06:15+1.
On May 20, the 3,147 nautical mile (5,828 km) route to Seattle will shift from its previous start date of May 7. The LR will initially operate daily, then triple daily on June 1 (all-LR), double daily from June 2 to June 30, and triple daily (all-LR) from July 1 to September 13. It will revert to double daily on September 14 and daily starting the next day.
North American plan (for now)
As of January 13, Icelandair’s North American LR schedule is as follows. The details will vary, so consider it a snapshot:
- Newark: April 30–May 18 (see above)
- New York JFK: Only on May 19 (see above).
- Seattle: starting May 20 (see above)
- Orlando: December 19 alone.
- Portland: four times weekly starting October 26.
- Toronto: everyday from September 14 to October 24.
The list does not include Miami. Icelandair had booked its maiden route to Miami, only to cancel it due to an error. This could be read in a variety of ways, including the possibility that it is on its way but does not yet want to be revealed. We’ll see.
How about August?
As previously indicated, all four of Icelandair’s forthcoming LRs will be delivered prior to peak summer. On August 13, a randomly selected Wednesday, it expects to fly the following flights during its triple daily Seattle operation:
- Aircraft one arrives from Seattle at 06:15, then operates to/from Barcelona (08:25 out, 18:20 back), followed by a 19:45 departure to Seattle.
- Aircraft two starts the day at 07:35 to Copenhagen, returns at 15:50, and then departs at 16:50 to Seattle.
- Aircraft three arrives from Seattle at 09:25 and departs there at 10:30.
- Aircraft four: arrives from Seattle at 14:00, then operates to/from Copenhagen (16:30 out, 23:50 back; overnight stay in Keflavik).